Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 – Awakening DLC

Ok COD fans the new Awakening DLC for Call of Duty Black Ops 3 has come out this week for Playstation 4 and I am gonna share some juicy details about the new maps and give you guys some quick tips on how to navigate them. The Awakening DLC comes with 4 new multiplayer maps and an added chapter to the zombies mode. After spending some time playing the new DLC, I think the new map pack is totally worth purchasing. The new maps are a perfect addition to the originals and are a total blast to play.

The first map that I wanted to talk about is called “Skyjacked” which is a remastered version of the original “Highjacked” map from Black ops 2. “Skyjacked” brings an awesome new perspective to the classic map and expands on the design making it futuristic and well balanced all at the same time. Although the general layout of the map is the same, using the new abilities in Black Ops 3 like wall running and double jumping make it accessible in a whole new way. The best part about the map is the ability sneak up on your opponents and rack up on double and triple kills when possible.

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(Side Note: All the quick tips and suggestions I am throwing out there are only referring to Team Deathmatch)

Quick Tips: For this map I would really recommend using a fast and steady assault rifle like the HVK to handle the mid to long range combat if you choose to stay on the upper parts of the map. If you are the run and gun kind of player, I would definitely recommend a sub machine gun like the Pharo or VMP. I would also recommend running a suppressor on this map to help with the ambush approach if you decide to attack you opponents from behind and surprise them.

The next map which is also my favorite is “Splash”. Now i’ll be honest with you guys, I thought this map was going to be a complete disaster simply because of the super colorful brightness factor that accompanies these kinds of DLC maps. Usually I feel that bright maps like this are kiddish and just throw off the balance of the more serious competitive maps but to my surprise I found “Splash” to be fantastically well balanced. The map is just booming with bright colors and it may be a hefty distraction for the first few matches, but once you get used to the design, the space is really competitive and you can really rack up kills in the choke points of the map. I am also a huge fan of the underwater gunfights and this map has plenty of water areas you can use to ambush opponents from the sides or to use as an escape route if you’re in a jam.

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Quick tips: All right so this map has few mid to long range angles surrounded by areas which are super close quarters so having a balanced weapon that can handle both combat scenarios is key to dominating this map. For my personal preference I choose to rock the XR-2 auto burst assault rifle. Now this weapon takes a little getting used to, but once you work out the kinks it can be truly lethal in both close and ranged battles. I recommend adding the quickdraw grip, silencer, and high caliber attachments for some stealth and balanced shooting. You could also use the Razorback submachine gun for this map to get the most range while being agile. Another suggestion for this map is the Dingo light machine gun. When equipped with the ELO sight, quickdraw grip, FMJ, and extended mag attachments the Dingo can be a super accurate and deadly combo with plenty of ammunition to keep your kill streaks going.

The next map in the DLC pack is called “Gauntlet” and features a very interesting visual dynamic. The map consists of three environmentally different areas, and are joined together by a lab facility. One section of the map has a raining city like aesthetic while the center of the map has a frozen wasteland theme and the last section is a jungle area with lots trees and sunlight.

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Quick Tips: I recommend a sniper rifle for the snow center piece of the map or an assault rifle if you plan to keep moving throughout the map. “Gauntlet” has some close quarter combat areas when turning corners in the facility, and a lot of longer hallway like sections in the themed environments, so be prepared to have close and long range battles. I found it really difficult to find a solid weapon to use in this map, but after some trial and error, I found that a full auto assault rifle seems to do the trick in most of my gunfights. So something like the HVK with an ELO sight or the ICR assault rifle with quickdraw grip” and FMJ (for a little more punch) should allow you to handle all the mid to long range gunfights. If you feel a little more confident with a sniper you could probably rock the “Drakon” sniper rifle and have a pretty solid kill/death ratio.

And finally the last map in the pack is called “Rise”. This environment is set in a frozen construction site at dawn which gives it this really dirty and cold feeling. Out of all the maps this one happens to be the one that took me the longest to figure out. It is a very small map that has most of its routes connecting to this middle open space where you can take cover behind a crane. The design is pretty simple but it takes some time to truly understand how it works in terms of movement and understanding the flow of enemy re-spawns.

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Quick Tips: “Rise” is not a very big map so it primarily focuses on close to mid range combat. My biggest tip here is to find an area you can consistently clear out and keep sweeping behind you and REPEAT. I found that most of my battles I died because my enemies were always spawning behind me so, in order to really make progress, I needed to clear out a path and keep circling the main entrances that led into the middle space, and picking off enemies as they tried to enter. In this map you really need to be quick and accurate. The weapon that was absolutely amazing for me in this map was the KN-44 with an ELO sight, FMJ, and high caliber attachments. Now there are tons of other weapons that could work here, like the Vesper, Weevil, and VMP sub machine guns. They are all fast shooting and can help keep you stay mobile so keep trying them out to see what works for you.

Alright – that was the rundown on all of the multiplayer DLC maps. Just so everyone is aware, there is just so much content in COD Black Ops 3 that I may have to make another post just to talk about the main game itself. I will also make a post with some more in depth details in multiplayer that will hopefully help increase your skills if you are new to COD.

Also I just want to take a min to say thanks to all my readers I really appreciate you taking the time to read my posts, and I hope that you enjoyed it.